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Princeton Professor to Share Awareness of Environmental Justice

By Kristina Lee '14

Environmental Justice — the fair treatment and involvement of all people with respect to the development of environmental policy — will be the subject of an upcoming lecture at Mary Baldwin College.

The Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program and Mary Baldwin College present guest speaker Janet Currie, Henry Putnam professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton and director of the University’s Center for Health and Wellbeing, who will discuss new evidence on environmental justice.

Currie’s lecture will focus on environmental justice for women and infants and will examine how maternal responses to environmental policy affect potential exposure to hazardous substance.

The talk will take place at 7 p.m. in Francis Auditorium and is free and open to the public.

Currie has written about early intervention programs, programs to expand health insurance, and improving health care, public housing, and nutrition programs. Much of this research can be found in The Invisible Safety Net: Protecting the Nation’s Poor Children and Families. Her current research focuses on the socioeconomic differences in children’s health and on environmental threats to children’s health from sources like toxic pollutants. She was elected vice president of the American Economic Association in 2010 and is a fellow of the Society of Labor Economists.

Currie is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program, which aims to contribute to the intellectual life of universities with Phi Beta Kappa chapters.

“I hope the MBC community will become more informed about the risk and efforts to correct this injustice that women and children face,” said Anne McGovern, secretary of the Lambda Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at MBC.

Environmental justice is an interdisciplinary issue, McGovern said, and she encourages the community to attend what will be a stimulating talk.

Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest and most respected society honoring liberal arts students of genuine academic and personal achievement. At Mary Baldwin College, the election for Phi Beta Kappa membership usually occurs in the spring semester of the senior year.